Summary and Analysis

Summary

At the beginning of the chapter, the narrator is a black college student on a scholarship. Continuing his quest for acceptance and identity, the narrator, eager to impress the white trustee, Mr. Norton, drives him to an old slave district on the outskirts of campus. On the way, Mr. Norton tells him about his deceased daughter. As the narrator drives past Jim Trueblood's cabin, Mr. Norton orders him to stop the car so he can talk to Trueblood. Horrified, intrigued and fascinated, Norton listens to Tennant's story of an incestuous encounter with his daughter Matty Lou. Before leaving, Norton hands Trueblood a $100 bill and tells the narrator to get him some whiskey to calm his nerves. Head to Golden Day, a popular local black bar.

Analysis

This chapter explores the concept of moral absolutes by posing several key questions about love, familial loyalty, mortal sin, and morality. Are certain actions morally wrong, regardless of the circumstances, or are there shades of right and wrong? Finally, the text deals with complex issues of black sexuality and masculinity. Trueblood's story is at the heart of all these issues.

Through Trueblood, Ellison examines humans' all-too-human tendency to judge individuals based on single, isolated acts. Trueblood's behavior before and after the incident with his daughter characterizes him as an intelligent, hardworking, and loving man. Despite his extreme poverty, Trueblood is the only man in the entire novel to have a family among blacks or whites to the best of his ability. His $100 bounty for Mr. Norton shows that Mr. Norton is no different than any other white man who used his Trueblood afflictions as a price for himself. Described by the narrator as a "Boston cigar smoker," Norton has much in common with smoking men and Mr. and Mrs. Broadnax, philanthropists who openly show how to help black people.

Themes

Racism

Power

Humility

Submission

Ambition

Disillusion

Self Interest

Invisibility

Identity

Unconsious